My personal involvement with Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche and the Shambhala Centers began around 1994 in Philadelphia, PA. I took a few courses and intensives at the local center. In terms of meditation we learned to “do nothing on the in breath and then follow the outbreath into the room”. I left philadelphia for California and pretty much forgot about Shamabhala until 2008 when in Columbus, OH I went to a Shambhala center. At this time, CTR’s son, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, was in charge and the instructions were: “just follow the breath, inhale and exhale.” So I spent a week or two with them and then forgot about Shambhala again.
A few months ago, I figured I needed some mental cultivation to go along with my physical culture practices and found The Path of Awakening Buddhist Center online. They have a regular practice schedule which is what I find appealing.
Every once in awhile, they would have a Tuesday teaching that was sensational and I would share it to the reddit vajrayana group. The third time doing so, someone asked me why I wasnt sharing it to the shambhala buddhist group. I wasnt aware there was such a group. That was when I learned some of the history of Shambhala which led me to ask in this week’s class:
What is the relation between Vajrayana and the Shambhala Teachings?
John Baker gives his answer at 41:23 into this video. I summarize
They are very, very synchronous… you get into the heart of Vajrayana much faster…
John Baker
All I did was quote part of his response. I encourage you to watch his entire explanation at 41:23 into this video.